


sketching smiles

by delta_capricorni



Series: Nonbinary Byleth Week [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Emotions, Fluff, Food, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27458428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delta_capricorni/pseuds/delta_capricorni
Summary: Ignatz tries to get Byleth to smile.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Ignatz Victor
Series: Nonbinary Byleth Week [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002213
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	sketching smiles

**Author's Note:**

> for day 4 of #nonbinarybylethweek i've got here the prompts (expressing) emotions & food :O hope y'all're still enjoying these works & thanks for tagging along!

Ignatz sighed dejectedly as he crumpled up and tossed yet another drawing. It missed his overflowing trash bin and joined a growing pile of its fallen brethren circumscribing the bin, as if taunting him about his lack of projectile accuracy on top of a lack of inspiration, skill, and apparently the wherewithal to draw. If he’d learned anything from studying and training at Garreg Mach, however, it was the value of persistence. Just as Claude forced him to shoot over a hundred arrows until he scored five bullseyes in a row, right now he would force himself to draw over a hundred sketches until he achieved five perfect—

A knock on his door startled him, causing his arm to jerk and his pencil to scratch across the page. Cursing under his breath, he ripped the sheet out from his notebook and let it flutter limply to the floor. He’d triple-checked that there were no more classes, training drills, or extracurricular duties lined up for him today (though the thought that he was wasting this precious free time only irked him further), so who could possibly be looking for him? It better not be Claude demanding more target practice…

To his surprise it was none other than Byleth, whom he caught in the act of leaving, as if they were in fact unwilling to be there. At the sight of each other they both became flustered, but Ignatz had spent too much energy on self-loathing to go through the usual preemptive apologies for potential mishaps.

“Professor, may I help you with something?” he asked, wincing at his accidentally sharp tone.

If they noticed, though, they showed no indication. “Hello, Ignatz. Yes, I do require your assistance.”

“…with what exactly, Professor?”

“…”

Ignatz’s irritation gave way first to increased exasperation as he watched them stand there, apparently hovering between actually explaining themself and simply making a break for it; then to confusion as their seemingly characteristic silence gave way to an uncertain, almost bashful one; then to an odd sort of affection—one that was totally inappropriate for the son of a merchant, never mind for students, Ignatz, stop it!—as he realized he was witnessing them being _shy_ for the first time since they’d arrived.

He never quite knew how to directly confront his professor, as stoic and untouchable as they were, and neither set of the unspoken rules of class and etiquette when addressing gentlemen or ladies seemed to apply to Byleth. Even so, he decided if they couldn’t express themself, he would have to take the lead.

“Would you like to come take a seat?” Ignatz ventured. His inner Lorenz immediately chastised him—it’s inappropriate to invite a lady into your quarters!—while his inner Hilda then muted the inner Lorenz—bros are allowed to hang out with each other in their rooms, you dolt!—but thankfully Byleth nodded.

As soon as they set foot in his room he remembered with dismay that his floor was littered with his crumpled sketches, but before he could stoop down and begin to scoop them up, they finally spoke.

“Can you help me learn how to smile?” they inquired, as if asking for directions to the marketplace.

Ignatz was stunned. Surely they were joking! He gestured for Byleth to take the chair by his desk while he sat at the foot of his bed. He combed through his memories of watching Byleth’s face, searching for the tiniest hints of emotion. Though he’d never admit how often he’d studied their features—for the sake of drawing only, he’d tell himself—he was convinced that he’d seen them smile before. But when?

Interrupting his thoughts, they continued, “I’ve seen your paintings... They’re quite realistic. You have a talent for depicting facial expressions, so I figured you must spend a lot of time studying them.”

“Oh, thank you,” Ignatz mumbled, blushing and hoping Byleth hadn’t somehow read his mind just then. “Are you sure you don’t know how to smile though? …What brought this up, anyway?”

Byleth seemed to gaze at something far-off in the distance, and Ignatz fought to urge to start sketching. “Nothing in particular. I was just thinking that while I was a mercenary, generally everyone was neutral to somber about things. I’ve actually found it quite nice to be surrounded by my smiling students…”

Aha! There it was—the tiniest of smiles on their face. Did they not notice? Were they not self-aware, or was it something more than that? Ignatz grabbed his pencil and paper and furiously began documenting.

“Ignatz?”

“Look! Here you are, smiling!” He shoved his sketchbook into their hands, watching with satisfaction as their eyebrows raised and lips slightly parted. _Surprise_. This, he doodled hastily on a stray scrap of paper.

Then, to his dismay, they handed it back. Their face resumed its usual apathetic guise. “I’m aware you’re a phenomenal artist; this is indeed very lifelike. But I meant that I need help with doing it in real life.”

“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. This was you! I swear, I saw you when you were talking about… us.”

A realization dawned upon Ignatz. A change of plans was in order. “Are you free this evening?” he asked.

They tilted to their head slightly, eyes looking upward as they ran through their agenda. _Thoughtfulness_. He remembered how just a few moons ago, they might’ve stared straight ahead, even if they weren’t actually looking. This moment, too, he decided to sketch, though he withheld the final product for now.

“Yes,” they finally answered. “Why?”

Yes! “Tonight there’ll be a feast in honor of the Foundation of the Leicester Alliance, so all of us Golden Deer have to be there together to represent our houses. I was thinking, it’d be nice if you came too!”

Their eyebrows furrowed slightly; their mouth flattened into a line. _Apprehension_. “I’ll think about it.”

But Ignatz was busily sketching again. “Great, see you then,” he said distractedly. When they got up wordlessly and left, he found himself drawing their silhouette against the frame of the door and the light streaming in, but then he decided the pose wasn’t done well, and the lighting hadn’t been from a proper angle—crap, they left without saying anything! How could he have let that happen? _Ignatz, you absolute dolt!_ his inner Lorenz and Hilda both reprimanded. This time he conceded that he deserved it.

-

They didn’t show up to the feast. The resplendent roasts and sizzling meals lost their flavor in Byleth’s absence. While the other Deer milled around, the nobles socializing with the future constituents of their respective territories and Leonie and Raphael wolfing down as much food as they could get away with, Ignatz sat alone and buried his face in his hands. Byleth had been trying to express something to him, and he’d totally missed it. But it was still the Horsebow Moon, and there was still one thing left to try.

-

Twelve days later, Ignatz stood hesitantly outside Byleth’s room, using one knuckle to gently rap against the door. He mulled over his new strategy as he waited for a response. In the days following the feast, Byleth had made no acknowledgement of what had transpired between them, and their classes and training drills proceeded almost a bit too smoothly. The only difference was that they seemed now to be holding off on emoting more, but Ignatz couldn’t tell if—like the smile—that was conscious or not. Even so, he’d asked all the Deer to help him for this afternoon. Although they were somewhat surprised at his taking initiative, they all agreed to do their part. Now they were anticipating his—and Byleth’s—arrival.

Just when he was about to call it quits and search for them elsewhere, Byleth opened the door. Peeking into their room, he could see it had been rapidly tidied, as if they were considering asking him in (would that be inappropriate?!), but he didn’t have plans for that today.

“Hey, Professor?” Ignatz began. When they nodded in acknowledgement, he continued, “I’m really sorry about the other day. I wasn’t paying attention to what you were trying tell me, and I just assumed that I knew better. You were asking for my help, and instead I ignored you.”

Their lips and eyebrows both perked slightly downward. “That’s alright. It was an odd request.”

“It was odd, yes, but it was a request all the same. Professor, I think I have a better solution this time.”

The way they averted their gaze, Ignatz knew they were thinking of the feast, and he internally winced. They confirmed his suspicions when they asked, “You’re not going to ask me to attend another high-class party for Fódlanese elites, are you? I know there’s a second Founding day coming up…”

Ah, so that was the issue last time. Ignatz kicked himself for being inconsiderate—but now wasn’t the time for that. “No, no, not at all. Are you free right now, though? …It’s okay if you’re not.”

Their eyes seemed to ask, _Can I trust you this time?_ When he steadfastly maintained eye contact, they slowly nodded. “I don’t need to dress up, do I?”

“Of course not,” he grinned. “It’s as casual as can be. And, Professor, I think you’ll find your smile.”

-

Stepping into an empty courtyard, Ignatz feared for a moment that the others had forgotten their promise to him. But as soon as he pulled out a chair under the gazebo and motioned for Byleth to sit, the Golden Deer burst forth from their various hiding spots—under a table, between some bushes, behind an archway—and carrying all sorts of scones, sandwiches, pastries, and teas between them.

“Happy Birthday!!” they shouted, surrounding Byleth with foodstuffs and showering them with confetti.

Slowly but surely, a great smile spread across their face. Their eyes seemed to sparkle as the sunlight reflected off the mellow brown hues of the tea, and they raised a perfectly round scone to their lips. “Thank you so much,” they finally said when they’d recovered their senses, and everybody cheered.

To celebrate, Claude popped a bottle of champagne, Lorenz began reproaching him for bringing alcohol into the monastery, Lysithea yelled at both of them for their immaturity, and Hilda snuck a gulp straight out of the bottle. Then, a bright and melodious sound cut across the courtyard. Everyone looked about to find the source, and all were pleasantly surprised to find that it was their very own Byleth, laughing for the first time since they’d arrived. Nobody had anticipated it, and so it sounded almost heavenly.

“Nice going, Ignatz!” Leonie clapped a hand on Ignatz’s shoulder, but he wasn’t the slightest bit startled.

“Yeah, thanks for organizing all this,” Raphael appeared at his other side. “Aren’t you gonna eat anything? You deserve a cake all to yourself for making this happen. I’d forgotten it was their birthday!”

Ignatz shook his head. “I appreciate it, but go on without me. There’s something I want to finish.”

As the two regrouped with the rest of the Deer surrounding Byleth, Ignatz decided to take his time drawing the frame of the gazebo, the outlines of his friends, the contours of their facial expressions, the angles of their limbs as they reached over for snacks or to lightly touch Byleth on the arm. He would achieve his fifth perfect sketch. But more importantly, he was content knowing that Byleth had indeed learned how to smile.


End file.
